Crazy Run

I got to run with the team this weekend because I was in Shreveport. I woke up bright and early, and Ashley picked me up for our 5:30 run. We were all having a perfectly happy little jaunt until we got to our halfway point. Tom was there waiting on us with cold water when a homeless man comes out of the woods with a puppy. Of course, the first day I bring my not-so-dog-friendly pup on a run, a homeless man comes out of the woods with a puppy not on a leash. So I have to stand holding my 35 pound dog while this man asks us questions such as, "Are you Y2K?" and "Do you think you could run to Amarillo?" Then when he told us the obscene name that he has for his dog and cursed at us when he was told he needed to go on his way. Glad I wasn't running alone! Just another run in downtown Shreveport.

Weekend Full of Running!

I decided that I needed to really get on the ball with my running when I got back from vacation. If I don't make a better habit out of running regularly now, then when I go back to school and have to really make time for it I'm going to have lots of trouble fitting it in.
Thursday night I was worn out from getting up at 4 am for work, so I decided that I would get up Friday morning and run. Ha ha! We all know how great I am at waking up early. When I finally got up at 10, I decided I would try to run a little outside because if I didn't take Daisy for a short run, then she was going to get her feelings hurt. But I knew it would be too hot to run 4 miles outside. So I headed out and ran 2 with her, which was plenty to keep her satisfied. Then I headed to the apartment gym to finish 2 more on the treadmill. I HATE the treadmill. If I can find any other means to run, then I will. But it was 2 miles, so I figured I would tough it out. And it wasn't all that bad. I sang to myself like a crazy person to keep myself entertained. When I only had 1/2 mile left, I started to get a bit of a side stitch, and I really wanted to walk. But I thought about how last time I ran with the team, I finished 6 miles without 1 walk break. I knew that if I were with the team then I wouldn't stop to walk. So I just pretended that I was with them. And it worked! I kept on running, and the cramp went away. Then with 0.07 miles left, the treadmill shut off dead in it's tracks! Good thing I wasn't going any faster or I would have flown off into the wall! Instead, I jumped on the other treadmill and finished running those last few steps. Success!
Yesterday evening I decided I would tough it out and do my 8 mile long run. All alone. On a Saturday night. I started around 8 with Daisy. We did a 2 mile loop together. Then I did another 3 mile loop by myself. And I talked Paxton into finishing the last 3 miles with me, because it was dark by that point, and I didn't want to be abducted. I finished all 8 miles, and it actually felt pretty good! I only walked 2 minutes of the entire thing, and that was in the last 1.5 miles. At one point, I was once again singing to myself for entertainment, when I felt a bug hit the back of my throat. Yuck! I tried to cough it out but to no avail. I guess it was some extra protein. I also used it as an opportunity to test out my running belt that I have to hold my re-fueling food on the run. I had it for the marathon, but let's face it, my trusty pack horse, Paxton, wore it for me. It was hard to get it in a comfortable place at first, but I finally got it. I wanted to wear it on my hips because that is stylish. But I quickly realized that running is no place for style. It kept riding up to my waist, and then it would rub my skin. So I figured out that I was just going to have to wear it around my waist, over my shirt (attractive, I know) if I was going to wear it at all. But oh well. At least it makes me look like a real runner!

Vacation is Over :(

I have been at the beach with my best friends for the past week. And now it's over. It was a great time to have fun, catch up with friends, and just plain relax. But now it's back to everyday life and work and all the stuff that we must do.
I was so proud of myself because I went running on vacation, TWICE! This is big for me. Usually on vacation I plan to run, and even pack clothes for running, and then don't do it. But our 2nd day on the beach I decided just to get up and take off all by myself, barefoot down the beach. It was awesome. It was so pretty and the weather was so nice that it didn't even seem like exercise. Plus, I could get in the water whenever I wanted to cool off. Fabulous! And boy were my calves sore from digging into the sand!
Then after we spent a few days at the beach I stayed at my friend's house, and we all went out and ran together. She lives in North Carolina and it was hilly and tough, but great nonetheless. We slept in that day, but thankfully 11:30 in North Carolina was not as hot as 11:30 in Texas. Not to say that it wasn't hot :)
It was a great trip, but I'm glad to be home. However, I am a little less glad to get back to work and school. Oh well, we can't have our cake and eat it too.

Hot Runs in Cool Gear!

It rained all week long. Everyday that I planned to run, it rained. It was terrible. If I planned to run in the morning, then it rained in the morning. If I planned to run in the evening, then it rained in the evening. I did get 2 runs in though this week. And they were both HOT. And August just started. The worst running month of the year. I can't wait till it's over and every day starts to get a little colder.
BUT . . .
Running is always more fun with new gear, which I have! I've had it a while now, but I couldn't post about it because I got the same items for Ashley for her birthday, and it would ruin the surprise if she saw them on here first. I got a Bondi Band to keep the ever-flowing sweat out of my eyes and a Road ID in case I get hit by a car or attacked by a wild dog while I'm running by myself. This happens all the time in suburbia, you know! Plus, my Bondi Band lets everyone know that I am a TNT runner, which is never a bad thing!

Pancake Breakfast!

Our team had a pancake fund raiser this past weekend, and it was a lot of fun and we made a decent amount of money. We could have made more, but hey, we could have made less too! We raised a total of $536! Not too shabby if you ask me.
Then, after we enjoyed our pancakes on Saturday morning, we had a 5:30 am run on Sunday morning. You read that right. 5:30. In the morning. On a weekend. But I made it. I ran every single step of the 6 miles. I was so proud of myself for not taking any walk breaks. Luckily, Ashley and I finished just in time to beat the rain. Good thing, because it poured the rest of the day. The best part about the run- the 2 hour nap I took after it!

Money, money, money, money

So I've been working really hard to try and find places and people to donate to LLS. I sent out emails to all my friends, family, acquaintances, strangers even to ask for their support. I did get some donations out of it, but it's really hard to convince people to tell their friends and family about your cause. Which is sad because I really think this would help. However, I did get approved by the president of the hospital that I work for (Go me!) to raise money at work. I just have to figure out how to work up the courage to ask people now because I haven't been working there all that long. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

I finally reached the 1/3 mark on the fund raising. I feel like getting the rest is going to be the hard part. I think I may ask businesses now since I have pretty much exhausted all my options for asking people that I personally know.

If you're reading this and haven't donated, think about all the families that this disease targets. Think about all the money that it takes to treat this disease. And think about how distressed these people must be because they can't afford the treatment they need to fight for their child's, parent's, or own life. Then think about the latte you got on the way to work this morning, the magazine you read during your break, the gym membership that you don't use, or the round of golf that you will play this weekend. Giving up these things once or twice a week would allow you to donate much needed money to families of individuals with blood cancer. Just think about that when you stop to buy that extra indulgence that you so enjoy. Consider putting the money towards a greater cause, and help out a family that is in such dire need.

Building Up My Mileage

It's always good to realize that what you learned during your undergrad is actually true. As a kinesiology student, I remember learning about how fast your cardiovascular fitness and strength will decline when you are inactive. I also remember that if you were fit for a good length of time prior to your inactivity, then your fitness will come back faster upon becoming active again. Well, since I did a marathon in December, and then I've been running casually but not quite seriously, I would say that my fitness declined. But now that I am back running again, I am impressed by how fast it seems that my fitness is coming back. I ran 6 miles tonight for the first time since probably December, and I was amazed at how easy it felt. It was like I never stopped running! I guess it just goes to show that our bodies are pretty amazing and they like to be active, and will adapt as quickly as possible to get us back that way!

Four Glorious Miles

After last night's workout, tonight's run was tough. But once I got warmed up it was much better. I was getting tired with my regular route of up the street, around the park, and back, so I decided just to run about 20 minutes out and back and hope that it made approximately 4 miles. So Paxton and I went to the neighborhood that is directly adjacent to ours to run. There is a really nice lake (pictured above) that we have walked around, but never been running around before. Technically, we were trespassing because it's for "Neighborhood Residents Only," but we live really close, and frankly, I think they're being stingy with nature! It was a nice way to spend a mile and a half of my run, even if I kept having to swat bugs out of my face and spit a couple out.
Running on a new route is so rejuvenating because you don't know what's coming up next or how far you have been when you reach certain points, which always leads me to do the math every 2 minutes to calculate how far I have left to go.
I may have a final at 9 in the morning, but it was definitely worth it to spend that 40 minutes running instead of sitting home and reading notes.

P90-OMG!

When I was training for my 2nd half marathon in 2006, I was also taking a weight training class. I don't know if it was a coincidence or the result of the weight training that my time was 20 minutes faster than the year before. Despite whether this is correlation or causation, I know that weight training has countless benefits on fitness. But since I am poor and cannot afford a gym membership, my weight training is usually limited to what I can do with free weights and my own body weight in my apartment. Until now!
I got the P90X DVDs and started the workout program last night. OMG! The title of the workout may have been "Core Synergistics," but that is just to fool you. My entire body is sore! And I consider myself in decent shape despite my menial apartment workout, which I guess I must be because I actually got through the 45 minutes of torture! I can't walk down the stairs properly, scratch my own back, sit down, or lean over to pick something up. It literally worked every muscle. I'm so excited! I'm one of those people who doesn't enjoy a workout unless it hurts the next day because that means I worked hard enough.
So anyway, now I'll have to keep you posted on how this goes in addition to the running! And don't worry, I won't look like the guy in the picture.

Running Miles, Raising Funds!

So, I've been doing better at getting my runs in lately. It's so hard when it's 105 degrees during all normal waking hours of the day. So if I don't wake up at 6am to run, and then I have to work until 7 at night, there literally is no time. Especially since I am diametrically opposed to treadmills! I can't wait for cooler weather so I can run in the middle of the day if I want to!
My fund raising was going great, but it seems to have stagnated. I'm almost 1/3 of the way. But donations have stopped coming in, and no one is showing any interest in the Flapjack Fundraiser! I'm going to need to get creative soon and think of some ideas. I did get approved to have a bake sale at school, so that should be a big help. It won't be set up though until early September when fall semester starts again. I hope it works! Until then, I need someone, anyone (you!) to send me a check!

Three More Miles

I made it out for a 3 mile run tonight. I meant to run this morning, but you know how the story goes. I have set the alarm in my cell phone with a note that said "Don't be lazy." It's really hard to convince me to care at 6 am. But I still ran tonight, so that is the important part. I've been slow lately because of the heat, but as long as I'm out there, slow is fine with me!